Effect of Internet-mediated music therapy intervention on reduction in generalized anxiety disorder symptoms among displaced Nigerians of the Russia–Ukraine war

Abstract

This study aimed to ascertain the usefulness of music therapy as an intervention for reducing the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among Nigerian students who were evacuated from Ukraine as a result of the Russia–Ukraine war. The researchers sampled 401 students who were enrolled in different degree programs in Ukraine but displaced due to the war. The researchers assigned 201 students to no music therapy group and 200 to a music therapy group. The evacuees from the music therapy group took part in 12 music therapy sessions delivered to them through an Internet-mediated platform (Zoom). The result of the study showed that before the music therapy treatment, participants in both groups reported severe anxiety. After the intervention, participants in the control group still reported severe anxiety (even though their score dropped slightly from 16.8 to 16.1). However, their counterparts in the music therapy group dropped significantly from severe to mild anxiety. During the follow-up evaluation, participants in the music therapy further dropped significantly from mild to minimal anxiety. In contrast, those in the no music therapy slightly dropped to moderate anxiety disorder. The implications of these results on the field of music as a public health tool have been explored.